From Riga to Helsinki NORWAY (Finnair) on the ATR72
I recently flew on a Finnair flight from Riga (RIX) to Helsinki (HEL) on N ° RRA on the ATR72-500. The experience was efficient and the service professional, but I was also lucky enough to be on a flight that was only half full.
Who is N ° RRA?
Finnair itself flies only part of its regional flights on its own Airbus A320 family. Most of its regional network, both domestic and international, is operated by Nordic Regional Airlines, also known as N ° RRA.
N ° RRA was launched in 2011 under the name Flybe Nordic as a joint venture between Finnair and Finnair. FlybeA British regional airline that was once the largest independent European airline and ceased operations in March 2020. Before the bankruptcy, Flybe sold Flybe Nordic and is now owned by Finnair and DATa Danish regional airline operating short-haul flights in northern Germany, Scandinavia and PSO routes in Italy.
Flight AY1076
According to our records, from ch aviation, The N ° RRA fleet consists only of regional aircraft. All are operated by Finnair, and all have Finnair or oneworld coloring. The airline has 12 ATR 72-500 aircraft and 12 ERJ 190-100LR aircraft.
My flight is operated by an ATR 72-500. The plane was 13 years old, but its interior was rebuilt three years ago, so the cabin didn’t feel any old.
My flight details were as follows:
- Flight AY1076
- Aircraft type: ATR 72-500
- Registration: OH-ATI, 13 years old
- Departure from Riga International Airport (RIX) at 18.10
- Arrives at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (HEL) at 19:25
- Ticket price: € 50.98 ($ 55.50), of which € 9.98 ($ 10.90) was tax and € 41 ($ 44.60) was the actual price
- Occupancy rate: 53%, all economical
Occupancy was just over 50% and most front seats were empty. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
There are no codeshare agreements between Finnair and other airlines on this flight, but Finnair’s second daily flight between Riga and Helsinki (AY1074) is shared between American Airlines, Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines and Air France.
Finnair has fierce competition on the route. airBlatic offers two daily flights with its Airbus A220 aircraft and typically at a cheaper ticket price than Finnair. Just as Finnair feeds its network from Helsinki on this flight, airBaltic also uses its own Riga-Helsinki-Riga flights to feed exchange traffic to its own network from Latvia.
My flight price history. Image: Google Flights
In addition, Finnair’s very strong competitor in this market is Ryanair, which offers tickets between Riga and Helsinki for up to five euros ($ 5.50) one way. However, unlike airBaltic and Finnair, Ryanair does not rely on single-ticket passengers on this route, so it does not fly twice a day but only four times a week. Nevertheless, its highly competitive price is a big draw for all point-to-point passengers who are flexible about their travel times.
The ATR is incredibly noisy during takeoff. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
Before the flight
Finnair has an excellent application through which I can check in 36 hours before departure and get my boarding pass very easily. I could also use the app to choose any seat I want because I am a regular customer of oneworld with Ruby status. I collected Avios through my British Airways Executive Club account on this flight.
Riga Airport is clearly home to airBaltic. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
Dozens of great airBaltic aircraft were visible everywhere. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
As for the airport experience, Riga Airport is great. It is easy to get there by bus or taxi, but not by train. Riga Airport has a really great lounge, Primeclass Riga Business Lounge, where I could pay with my bank through a LoungeKey membership.
Flight
The throughput of the ATR 72-500 was tight for 30 minutes, but since the plane was only half full, we left on time because it didn’t take long to get on the plane. I was the last one to board. I always find it amusing how to get on a plane from the back of an airplane with ATRs.
The ascent to the ATR takes place from behind. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
We walked to the plane from the downstairs area of the terminal building. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
I try to avoid small planes whenever possible because I don’t like having to lean forward to reduce my length as I walk through the interior of the cabin because the aisle roof isn’t as high as I do. Still, to my pleasant surprise, this Finnair flight did not feel cramped at all. Finnair offers very good legroom with 31-inch ATRs. Actually, I had to be in line 1, which is the line of emergency exits, but when I got aboard, the purser asked if I would like to sit in line 3, which was completely free so I had more space. I accepted his offer.
Even the tray tables are very small. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
One thing that was a problem for some passengers, and I think this is the case with every Dash 8 or ATR flight, is that passengers whose luggage is in an inflexible shape will not fit in their bags in the upper compartments. The cabin crew placed one passenger’s trolley bag under the seat across the hall from me. The bag wasn’t particularly big, so I was wondering what would have happened if this had been a fully booked flight. The passenger already had his personal belongings under the seat, which Finnair allows free of charge.
The interior of the aircraft. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
Before take-off, we rolled in Riga for eight minutes, one of which was waiting for the airBaltic A220-300 to land en route from Verona (VRN). The ATR is an incredibly loud airplane during takeoff, so I used my noise-canceling headphones. This didn’t help much as I could still hear the sound coming from the propellers very loudly.
We were offered free blueberry juice. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
The flight time was one hour. All passengers were offered a glass of blueberry juice. It was not possible to buy any other drink or snack, as Finnair does not offer a boat menu for its short regional flights to Kuopio, Kajaani, Oulu, Vaasa, Visby, Tampere, Turku, Mariehamn, Stockholm, Riga, St. Petersburg, Vilnius. and Tallinn. In fact, there is not even free water or juice on Tallinn flights and the shortest domestic flights.
There was snow everywhere in Helsinki. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
We landed well in advance and rolled in Helsinki for only three minutes, as the plane was parked relatively close to the runway and we were transported to the terminal by bus. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is excellently organized and clean, and it is easy to get to Helsinki from the airport by a frequent train connection.
Helsinki-Vantaa railway station. Photo: Jakov Fabinger, Simple Flying
In addition to the relatively high price for a short-haul flight to Europe, I was very pleased with my Finnair experience. However, I don’t think I would have felt the same way if I had been on their unrepaired ATR 72-500s or if the flight had been full.
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